Well, it looks like I haven’t done a blog post in a year.
I wonder why.
It’s been quite an interesting year and it does not seem to be ending. One thing that got me through was thinking and working on different projects. I made a lot of notes and did a lot of research in the time I had, which was not that much. I still have not gotten a break this year, the pandemic kept all of us busy in the hospital. This is also something I’m very grateful for with so many other people not having that luxury.
We did end up spending a lot of time out in nature, which was amazing. Biking, canoeing and hiking was great. You needed to get up early and get it done before the entire city had the same idea and joined you.
The point is, it really changed my perspective on a lot of things. Problems that bothered me before, really did matter that much any more. If something didn’t work right, oh well, try again. I ended up with more patience then I used to have. Now, I still get frustrated, but it feels different. That brings me to this year’s photoshoot. I got the idea almost immediately after finishing last year’s shoot. I had time to plan and think, which really helped, because not much went well at first. I had a lot of ideas for the props in this picture and not a single one worked out the first time I tried to make them. I’ll get more into that later, for those who are interested. For now, I introduce the 2020 Washburn Halloween Portrait.
Our theme this year was Greek Mythology. Medusa, Minotaur, Hades and Cerberus.
Our Theme this year was Greek Mythology. Starting from the left, Suzannah plays Medusa, I play the Minotaur, Tyler is Hades and Pepper is Cerberus.
Suzannah as Medusa. Yes, the headpiece is real.
Yes, the head piece is real. As much as I love photoshop, everyone who sees the photos I make thinks a lot of the objects are photoshop. From the clothes, to the props, to the backgrounds (which are usually fake) I end up telling people what is real and what isn’t. Sometimes things are real, but I manipulate them to appear different, other times I put in fake objects and have to tell them it’s fake. Most professionals can see right through this, so it’s not that big of a deal to explain the composite to people. If someone likes your art work that much, explaining what is really going on is very enjoyable. That is one part of composites that I love.
This headpiece took a lot longer to make than anything else I’ve ever made. I had multiple ideas that failed the first around and it wasn’t until I discovered cyberlox that it all came together. So, cyberlox, are these goth-like plastic dreadlock things, I don’t know how else to describe them, that are super lightweight and flexible. They were perfect. I bought a snake head 3d model and my friend Chris was nice enough to print about three dozen snake heads for the head piece. I hand painted them with acrylics. I cut the brim off of a baseball cap, attached wire, painted it black, added the cyberlox on the wire and superglued the snake head to the front. After that, it was just a matter of bending them in the right direction. The whole piece weighs just over a pound.
Greek Mythology American Gothic. Suzannah and Tyler enjoying the photo shoot. (for once, I’m joking, they almost always like it)
Tyler got away with it easy this year, the boy had to take organic chemistry this semester at UGA, so I couldn’t stress him out anymore. The beard was made with the crepe hair from the red riding hood / werewolf shoot a few years ago. Over the years I have acquired a small special effects workshop in my basement, so if anyone needs any help with their costumes, let me know, ‘wink’. The costume was bought online and the crown and staff I made myself with foam, pvc, tape, glue and foam clay. I have never used foam clay, but it is one of the coolest thigs ever, I can see why cosplay people use it. Now that I’ve made a few things with it, I think I have a good grasp on all of the possibilities it has.
Tyler as Hades.
As for me, I originally made my own horns. They weren’t bad. I crafted them out of wire and paper mache. I tried smoothing them with plaster of paris and it looked great, until they dried, cracked and completely feel apart. I painted what was left and hoped to “fix it in post” (Good photographers try to never say that phrase).
I was able to take the first couple of photos before my horns and hair started coming apart. I was able to get the main photo complete, but getting a close up was not going to work. It’s very difficult to have props and makeup on and take the photos. The horns in the final composite are not mine. The ones I made just didn’t make the final cut. The costume is real, although there are some manipulations. The bull nose is real. It’s a prosthetic with makeup added, like the prosthetics we used for the zombies and the werewolves. I have come to love using the prosthetics, they are awesome and learning how to make them has been a lot of fun.
I’ve tried to use as many real props and costumes with the photos and embellish them with photoshop. This was the goal along. We hope you enjoy this year’s Halloween shoot and hope you will return for the finale. Yes, the finale. We will be stopping at 13. Great Halloween number to stop at. It’s time to move on to other projects. See you next year!